INDIA MID-TERM REVIEW

INDIA MID-TERM REVIEW

1. The Indus valley civilization The Indus valley civilization, along with the Aryan culture, is one of the two ancient origins of Indian civilization. The Indus valley civilization, which was centered on a river and located in the basin of the Indus which flows through present-day Pakistan, was discovered by excavations in 1921. developed from about 2500 BCE, reached its peak around 2300~2000 BCE, was in decline by 1800 BCE and had faded away by 1500. There is strong supporting evidence that the language of the Indus valley civilization was Dravidian.

The Indus valley script, however, has not yet been successfully deciphered. It was a developed urban culture and Mohenjodaro and Harappa, separated by some 40 miles, were two of this civilization s most important cities and housed some 40000 inhabitants who enjoyed a high standard of living. The cities had sophisticated water technology, i.e. a drainage system. The Aryan culture, including Sanskrit, is supposed to have absorbed Dravidian elements from the Indus valley civilization.

2. The Aryan Culture Aryans invaded into the northern plains of India from central Asia, via the mountain passes of Afganistan around 1500 BCE. Some of these groups went into Iran. According to the most commonly accepted theory, Hinduism, the heart of Indian civilization, is the consequence of invasion of Aryans. They spoke an Indo-Aryan language which developed into Vedic Sanskrit and finally into classical Sanskrit, the sacred language of Hinduism. They worshpped primarily Agni, a fire god, Soma, a hallucinatory plant, and Indra, a warrior god.

The self-designation of these people was the Sanskrit arya, meaning noble, which referred to the three highest social classes of their society, as distinct from the indigenous people of South Asia whom they encountered and subjugated by means of a superior war technology. Aryans reached the Ganges region which became known as the Aryan homeland after 1000 BCE. The Aryan culture was established in South India by around the sixth century CE. Knowledge of the Aryans comes mostly from the Rig Veda Samhita, the earliest literature of Hinduism.

3. The Veda The Veda is an eternal knowledge that is a timeless revelation. It was put together in its present form by the sage Vyasa. In a popular definition, a Hindu is a person who accepts the authority of the Veda. The Veda is indeed the foundation for later developments of Hinduism. Initially, the Veda had been transmitted with utmost care and accuracy through an oral tradition. There are four Vedas, i.e. Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva, and each has its own four genres, e.g. Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka, and Upanisad, in a chronological order.

The oldest genre is the Samhita (Collection) dealing with ritual in verses, and the other three genres deal with rules for ritual as well as interpretations of ritual. Rig Veda Samhita is in ten books of 1028 hymns dedicated to various deities, and each book was composed by sages of different families. Books two to seven are said to be the oldest and they were composed in Vedic Sanskrit as early as 1200 BCE. The Upanisads are sometimes known as being consist of 108 Upanisads, including the latest ones composed in 17th or 18th century. The oldest Upanisads, which are famous for their philosophical content, are said to be 14, and they are supposed to have been composed between 6th and 3rd centuries BCE.

4. Jainism Jainism derives its name from those (Skt. Jaina; Eng. Jain) who follow the teachings and example of authoritative teachers called Jina (conqueror). There are twenty-four Jinas. Enlightenment has the form of omniscience according to Jain soteriology. Freedom from rebirth can be attained by non-violence (ahimsa) or renunciatory withdrawal from physical and sensory interaction with the surrounding world. approximately 3.5 million Jains in India

Mahavira, who lived from about 490 to 410 BCE, was the founder of Jainism and a contemporary of the Buddha, predeceasing him by some years. By around the fourth to fifth centuries CE, Jainism was divided into two sects, Svetambara (white-clad), whose monks and nuns wear white robes, and the Digambara (sky-clad), whose monks are naked. The Svetambaras, unlike the Digambaras, accepted that women were capable of gaining the religious goal in the same manner as men. The Digambara ascetic lineage was revived in the nineteenth century after becoming virtually extinct in the late medieval period.

Since the fifth century CE, the main center of Svetambara Jainism has been in Gujarat in western India. The greatest figure in medieval Jainism was Hemacandra (1089-1172). The ideal ending to life for the Jain ascetic is the freely undertaken fast unto death. The standard occupations of lay Jains in modern times have been in business or professions such as law, not agriculture. Vegetarianism Lay Jains avoid root and bulb vegetables, such as potatoes and onions.

5. Early Buddhism in India An influential religious figure called Sakyamuni (personal name: Gautama Siddhartha), at some point in the sixth century BCE, founded in the Ganges River valley the community of wandering mendicants that would eventually grow into the world religion we now call Buddhism. The roots of Indian Buddhism are to be found in the shramanic movement of the sixth century BCE, which was the religious movement by wandering ascetics called sramanas. in direct opposition to brahmanas (brahmans). Buddhism and Jainism are two major shramanic religions. This new age, sometimes called the Indic period, was characterized by the dominant role of heterodox or non-hindu religious systems.

The use of vernaculars in preference to Sanskrit. The new age is supposed to have been a time of social upheaval and political instability. In Buddhism, the primary evil force was karma and a variety of techniques called yoga was the means for achieving liberation. The sustained practice of this discipline was known as a path called marga, and the goal was a state of peace and freedom from passion and suffering called nirvana. In Buddhism, suffering was universalized; all human conditions lead to suffering, suffering has a cause, and the cause is craving.

To achieve liberation from the cycle of rebirth one must follow the spiritual discipline prescribed by the Buddha, summarized as the Eightfold Path. The follower of Buddhism was expected to renounce the lay life and become a wandering ascetic, an ideal epitomized by the spiritual career of the founder.

GOOD LUCK!!